Beet Bourguignon

If you google the french dish Bœf B-o-u-r-g-u-i-g-n-o-n (phew) you will see Julia Child’s classic recipe everywhere. Talk about making an impression and leaving a footprint. We were looking it up since we have been experiencing a couple cold winter weeks here in Sweden and couldn’t imagine a dish more suitable for this climate than a warm and hearty stew. The Beef Bourguignon is made on beef and bacon, so not the most appropriate dish for vegetarians. But we reckoned that there must be a way to transform that rich, wine oozing hot pot into something more in our taste. After a few experiments it turns out that we were only one letter away. We turned beef into beet. We also added large chunks of mushrooms to give the stew the right texture and flavor.

We’re not sure what Julia Child would say if she tried our version of it. Probably “Oh dear no”. But except for replacing the meat we have actually had her recipe as our inspiration when creating this. We did however feel the need to increase the amount of vegetables (how can her recipe only call for one carrot in a whole stew?).

And how does it taste? Simply fantastic, if we may say so. It has got those deep and rich thyme and wine flavors, different sort of textures and a hint of sweetness. Indulgent winter food at its best.

We have seen many recipes combining this type of dish with pasta noodles. We prefer Puy lentils so that is what we paired it with. A potato mash would also work really good. Or perhaps both?

Beet BourguignonServes at least 4 persons

This is one of those dishes that works well making a day in a advance. The flavors will become more intense and the vegetables more tender.

Cooking the stew: Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or a large cast iron pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and garlic, sauté until soft. Toss beets, carrots, thyme and salt and pepper into the pan, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato paste, red vine, vegetable stock and bay leaves, let simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the lentils, mushrooms and pearl onions.

Preparing the Puy lentils: Rinse lentils under running water. Bring water to a boil, add lentils and lower to medium heat. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, when almost done add salt. Set aside.

Searing the mushrooms and pearl onion: Heat olive oil in a pan. Lower the heat and sear the portobello, champignon mushrooms and pearl onions, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden in color. Season to taste. Set aside.

Finishing the stew: Taste the stew, add more wine, stock or herbs if you like. If you prefer the stew a little thicker, add arrowroot mixture, but this is optional. Add mushrooms and onions and simmer for 10 more minutes. To serve, spoon the stew over a plate of lentils and sprinkle with fresh thyme.

I’m not vegetarian, but I typically cook vegetarian at home and this looks marvellous. While Puy lentils are an absolute favourite of mine, I have to admit your suggestion to serve over a potato mash is enticing! Thanks for sharing.

Another great recipe! (Broken record, anyone?) I’ve been dying to open up a nice bottle of red wine, but haven’t for fear I would have to (gasp) drink it all. Myself. Now I can happily give some to beets and mushrooms in good conscience.

I don’t think Julia would disapprove at all: She certainly had an adventuresome spirit, and I bet she was one dame who could appreciate a good beet every once in a while. (At least I like to think so.)

Regardless, however, I definitely approve: This whole situation looks incredible.

Haha, I totally read the post title as “beef” and thought, hmm, now that’s not GKS style! Then realized it was beet :) Great idea guys! I’ve never had the real thing, but your’s looks like a great veggie version!

I think Julia would like it. She was always breaking the rules, right? I’m going to pass this onto my neighbor. Her whole family of 6 are vegetarian and she is always looking for good dinners to feed everyone.

Oh how beautiful this is!!! It looks like the perfect soothing, comforting wintery meal! I love these colours and the styling!
Thank you, Luise and David, for inspiring us to see the beauty of life and the simple things, like a Beet Bourguignon…

All I’m going to say – I just bought beet, mushrooms and lentils and I’m cooking this tomorrow! This meal that you prepared is so original, so unusual, but in the other hand so logic. When I saw it I was just thrilled with all the ingredients that you combined replacing those in the original recipe. Thank you for inspiring my recipes and my cooking. :)
p.s.: I’ll send you a link to my blog post when I put photos of beet bourguignon. :)

After almost a year of reading your blog and trying your recipes, i thought it would be only appropriate to leave you a comment.
You guys are my idols, and probably one of the reasons why i finally told my finally i wanted to become a vegetarian. Your recipes only keep getting better and i don’t think i’ve tried one i haven’t liked. Family favorites now are the Involtinis and the Mango-Mint Zucchinni Spaghetti.
I also have shared your blog with a lot of people who are willing to eat more veggies, or try new things, and they’ve all been surprised by the taste of your dishes.
Finally, i just want to add that your pictures are amazing, and you’ve inspired me to also eat “pretty food”, arranging the meal in a way that it looks good and taking pictures of it.
Greetings to you three, from Mexico,
Gracia

Wow Gracia, thank you for those incredibly sweet words. I don’t think no one has ever called us their idols before. It totally made our day. We’re so glad that you and your family are finding our recipes useful. The Involtini and the zucchini spaghetti are also two of our favorites.

Made this dish this evening and LOVED it! What a great way to cook beets. When frying the mushrooms I added a TINY bit of smoked spanish paprika – it added the smoked flavour that bacon normally adds to this dish. And I served it with mashed potatoes AND lentils – just perfect:) Thank you for a new favorite winter-dish!

“C’est magnifique!” I’ve always cooked Boeuf Bourguignon for my husband, mother-in-law or my family in France, but I never got to eat it since I am vegetarian. Your version looks amazing & delicious. I have a monthly Ladies Night gathering this Thursday, so I’ll be making your special Beet Bourguignon to share with all, I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thank you much. PS: Love that it is a gluten free recipe too. :-)

Ok, this looks delightful! Thank you soo much for putting this recipe on your site. I like to try new things and a beets recipe sounds interesting. This is one I would not have ever thought of to do. So, I will try it out on my family who will be coming over to visit this weekend.

i just finished reading julia’s “my life in france” the other day, and promptly watched some of her “the french chef” videos online… including boueff bourguignon. the very next day, you all posted this lovely recipe, so of course i HAD to try it asap! delicious! i used all red beets, giving it an extremely distinctive color, but otherwise followed the recipe to a T! i think julia would love the creative spirit behind this, even if it isn’t traditional la cuisine francais.

I just made this tonight—it was a success and I will make it again. I skipped the lentils and cooked barley in the stew, which also thickened it. The matching color of the wine and beets makes this a beautiful dish.

Made this and it was fabulous! Would recommend thickening the sauce otherwise it goes right through the lentils and you are left with a very watery puddle that is hard to enjoy, and believe me the juice is wonderful tasting!

I made this last night and it was awesome! I halved the recipe and almost ate the entire pot. I added some baby turnips from my farm box and they were a nice addition with their creamy texture. Served with gluten free gnocchi. Also recommend thickening the sauce. Did not have arrowroot on hand and used tapioca starch. Thanks for an awesome recipe, this went into my personal cookbook to be added to the kitchen meal rotation. Yum!

I made your beet bourguignon this weekend, and it is absolutely marvelous! Every bite is decadent: pearl onions, mushrooms, beets and carrots each manage to keep their own distinct flavor, and they compliment each other so well!

Thank you for posting this recipe. I will certainly be making it again.

You have just butchered all my well-intentioned cooking plans for the weekend. I have ALL these ingredients but originally slated for other dishes… gah… My life has turned upside down! This looks so freaking fabulous. :)

This was one of the best recipes I have found on the internet. Served it with a side of sour cream mashed potatoes and it was superb. Smartest thing I did was make a double batch as I knew this was going to be a winner.

I cannot wait to try this! Replacing the beef with beets is genius. I made mushroom bourguignon for Christmas dinner and it was a huge hit. I adore beets and imagine this is so good! Thanks for sharing.

I am so in love with your blog. been a lurker for a long time, and an occasional commenter.

This will probably be for dinner Sunday night, if beets are available at the main farmer’s market here in New York City — the one at Union Square. I will probably include some other root vegetables such as turnip, rutabaga and parsnips, in addition to what’s listed above.

Okay, so we had it for dinner tonight and the carnivore love of my life didn’t even miss his beef. What a wonderful recipe. It was delicious. He even said when walking into the house, “man something smells good”. ;)

LOVED this recipe. Seriously, so great. We have been vegetarian for 3 months now and this website has become our recipe bible. We moved from the US to New Zealand 3 months ago and are getting used to being expats abroad and cooking like Kiwi’s in a vegetarian way. We have loved all your recipes we have tried but ESPECIALLY this one :)

Made this tonight and it was amazing. So wholesome and tasty. Definitely going into my repertoire.
Variations:
Thickened it with a few pieces of jerusalem artichoke grated on a microplaner which added a nice flavour (however, as the recipe says it probably doesn’t need thickening)
Added soaked dried porcini and the soaking water
Added chopped rosemary to onion, garlic and thyme (because we have loads and I add it to just about everything)
Didn’t have portabella mushrooms – just used buttons
Didn’t have pearl onions so used chunked red Spanish onions
Added chopped parsley at the end – the green contrasts nicely with the red

Our local farm veggie box came with beets (as well as many of the other ingredients) a few weeks ago, and I was thrilled to find this recipe. It was simple and delicious. The lentils and the beets go so well together. The whole family really enjoyed it.

First off I want to say terrific blog! I had
a quick question which I’d like to ask if you doo not mind.
I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head prior to
writing. I have had a difficult time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts
out there. I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like
the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally wasted just rying to figure out how to begin. Any
suggestions or hints? Thank you!

Is it possible to make this dish without using any wine? What can I use as a substitute and how much should I replace it with? Will broth work fine? Should I add lemon juice? Please advise! I really want to make this dish! :)

I don’t drink alcohol, and I know that the alcohol will be reduced when cooking, but I’ll rather prefer not having to buy a bottle of wine anyway, just to be on the safe side… ;)

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